419 scam: "Mr. Lawrence Collins"<nitto@mb.ccnw.ne.jp> RESPONSE NEEDED

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Lawrence Collins" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <telexdeposit@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2022 10:56:42 +0100
Subject: RESPONSE NEEDED

Attn:

We wish to congratulate and inform you that after thorough review of all unclaimed Contract, Inheritance and Lottery funds in conjunction with the World Bank and United Nations report, your payment file has finally been forwarded to us for review and immediate payment of your long-delayed funds starting with a first installment transfer of US$20,000,000.00 to your designated bank account.

The audit reports given to us, shows that someone has been trying to divert your funds.

This payment of US$20,000,000.00 is scheduled to be released to you within the next few days from our paying bank as a part-payment of your total entitlements will assist you greatly in meeting up with your financial obligations.

Should you follow our directives, your funds US$20,000,000.00 will be credited in your bank account by online banking transfer within three (3) working days and copies of the funds transfer release documents will be sent to you and your bankers for confirmation.

For the immediate payment of your US$20,000,000.00, kindly forward your

FULL NAME:

FULL CONTACT ADDRESS:

TELEPHONE and FAX NUMBERS:

OCCUPATION and AGE:

Note all correspondences regards your fund transfer of US$20,000,000.00 should have this Reference Number: (FMF/PED-NG/WAR-200) and reply

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Lawrence Collins

Accounting Department

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam